Bob Edlin: Mayor Whanau and Ayesha Verrall have won Jonesie Awards....

Maybe the media missed it – but Mayor Whanau and Ayesha Verrall have won Jonesie Awards (which were named after Guess Who?)

A Google search failed to steer me to a report about the 2025 Jonesie Awards in our major newspapers or from our major broadcasters.

That doesn’t necessarily mean this annual event was not covered by the “legacy media”. Maybe their reportage would have been winkled out if I had used other search words.

Point of Order: Transparency under Ardern

Party submissions on donations are kept secret and Taxpayers’ Union is banned from LGNZ conference

Yet again we are being reminded that from the moment she took office in 2017, Jacinda Ardern made a promise she would not keep – she promised her government would be the most open and transparent New Zealand has seen.

In her first formal speech to Parliament she pledged:

Louis Houlbrooke: There And Back Again - Taxpayers Shell Out For Epic Turtle Journey

Taxpayers shelled out thousands of dollars transporting a dead turtle from Banks Peninsula to Wellington, storing it in a freezer for 21 months, then sending it back down to where it washed up for a high-powered and fully-catered powhiri, complete with a helicopter ride and a handmade coffin constructed by public servants. No scientific research was performed at any stage.

Based on responses to several Official Information Act requests, plus earlier media reports, the Taxpayers' Union can set out the timeline:

Mike Butler: Focus on tribal tax exemption

The Taxpayers' Union is querying Labour Party leader Andrew Little's comments at Waitangi that New Zealand should consider allowing Maori to make their own laws, including tax laws, in reference to rules applicable to Native American tribal lands.

Little’s comments represented a parting shot of Waitangi Day 2015 that featured expert-on-everything Gareth Morgan telling five-generation New Zealanders of British ancestry to stop being ignorant about Maoris.

Mike Butler: Ways to cut local govt waste

If you thought local authorities had no clue on how to cut waste, save money, reduce bureaucracy, and ultimately lower rates, you are not alone. The Taxpayers' Union has produced such a guide for local authorities titled Rate Saver Report: 101 Ways to Save Money in Local Government based on similar reports published in the United Kingdom.

Mayors Ray Wallace (Lower Hutt City) and Tim Shadbolt (Invercargill) contribute forewords that show some degree of agreement with the recommendations.